TEHRAN – Iran’s Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, Seyyed Reza Salehi-Amiri, said on Sunday that the government plans to establish a national campaign to commemorate those martyred in the missile strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, including the creation of a museum, a permanent secretariat and a nationwide cultural initiative.
Salehi-Amiri said commemorating the victims of the Minab school attack was “a moral, human and national responsibility.”
The strike took place on Feb. 28, the first day of the US-Israeli war with Iran, when school’s roof collapsed, killing 156 civilians, including 120 schoolchildren. The victims also included 26 female teachers, one of whom was six months pregnant, seven parents, a school bus driver and a technician at a nearby clinic.
Salehi-Amiri said one of the ministry’s first measures would be to establish a Museum of the Minab Victims at Tehran’s Saadabad Cultural-Historical Complex to preserve the memory of the incident.
He also proposed upgrading the existing cultural committee established for the victims into a National Headquarters for the Minab Victims, saying all government bodies, institutions and organizations willing to participate would be invited to join.
The minister said a proposal had been made to establish a support fund overseen by the ministers of the five member ministries to pool financial resources and coordinate projects related to commemorating the victims.
He said members of the committee were motivated by humanitarian and social responsibility rather than administrative positions.
Salehi-Amiri said he had raised the Minab school strike during a recent visit to Spain, adding that the issue received media attention and that the international community should be informed about what he described as a humanitarian tragedy.
He also announced plans to expand tourism infrastructure in Minab, saying discussions had been held with investors over the construction of a hotel in the city.
The ministry also intends to invite academics, artists, cultural figures and other public personalities to visit Minab and document the events surrounding the attack, he said.
Salehi-Amiri said cultural, artistic and media resources should be used to strengthen national solidarity and present Iran’s account of the attack.
He announced plans to launch a “national Minab mourning caravan” across the country, involving cultural and artistic groups to commemorate the victims. The ministry also plans to produce short films and visual works for screening at Iranian diplomatic missions abroad.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Salehi-Amiri said one of the committee’s future meetings would be held in Minab and that a permanent secretariat would be established there.
He added that Iran would continue legal and international efforts to document and condemn the attack and seek compensation from the United States, which he described as the hostile state responsible for the strike.
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